Resuscitation
by LauraCeleste
Summary: A vignette about regret. Link's side of the story. Part 2 in the series with "Unrequited" and "Faithful".


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:: **Resuscitation** ::   
A Legend of Zelda Vignette   
By LauraCeleste 

Special thanks to my Beta Reader Hugh Jasse!! Thanks for believing in me!!   
Also, a shout out to all the LOZFF ML scribes out there - you know who you are!!! :) 

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::** Foreword** ::   
This is a small regret vignette from Link's point of view, a sequel to Unrequited (also a short vignette)   
found at http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=430871 . It is not required to understand this fic, but is   
highly recommended as it is the other side of the story. The fic is technically a Link/Malon pairing, but   
a Link/Zelda romance. I write this fic as a concession of sorts to those who believe that the OOT Link   
is not made for OOT Zelda but for Malon. OOT Link can have Malon! The other Zeldas, those of the future,   
will see to it that the hero doesn't get away! 

And now, on with the story! 

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There are days when I rise swiftly from my bed to greet the dawn, and then there are days when I am loathe to leave its warm confines. As my feet touch the cold floor today, I confirm it is the latter. Rain is falling steadily outside the window, and I realize as the damp air slaps me in the face that it was left open the night before. I perturbedly stomp to the window and slam it shut. My wife is already awake, thank goodness. 

Through the sheets of rain I see the spires and turrets of the great castle defined. I used to live there, in a room that wasn't drafty like this one. Every morning was a slugabed morning, every day a lazy man's dream. I didn't have to get up and feed the livestock or ready the equipment for a day of farming. I didn't have responsibility or resistance. I could waste away the days. 

There was you, too. You with your carefree laughter and vivacity, telling the most bizarre of stories while lounging beside me on the grass in your garden, tempting me relentlessly. 

Ah, there I go again. My mind wanders from my "here and now" to your "there and then." I can't keep living this way! I can't torture myself with memories of old when I am trying so desperately to persist in the new. 

"Link, dear.…." It is my gentle wife's voice, snatching me from my self-deprecation. "Breakfast is on the stove. Are you alright?" 

"Fine. I'm fine. I'll be down in a moment, honey." The words are alien to me, but they flow from my lips easily. She places her hand on my shoulder and squeezes it, and I place a kiss upon her selfless fingers as she turns to leave. She understands my melancholy.   
  
So did you. 

You, you, you.… It is always you. This blood, this soul, this life...they were yours. I bled for you, I risked my soul for you, I would   
die for you in a heartbeat. I love you. It is that simple. So why, then, am I calling another woman "honey?" Why, then, do I sleep next to her, tell her I love her... and why did I make her my wife? 

Why did I ask to leave all those years ago? It made sense, at the time. Within the walls of the castle I was strangled, cut off from all those freedoms I enjoyed as a child. I have the spirit of an adventurer, a soul destined to roam the plains in search of elusive contentment. I shall never be content, no matter where I am standing, but as long as I am moving, my thirst for resolution is quenched. Certainly I could roam as far as I liked, but I always had to come back to that castle eventually. I always had to return to the structure you enjoyed. I simply cannot live that way.   
  
Or, perhaps, I could. As an impulsive youth, I never considered compromise. I was not mature enough to realize that leaving the castle meant leaving you as well. 

It is hard to believe that your letter caused this redux of emotion. Yesterday morning it arrived, inviting my wife and I to the Celebration of Spring at the castle. We will go, of course. But you will be there. You, who I have not seen since that day. 

My wife shouts from below and I know she is growing impatient with me. I venture down and enjoy her hearty breakfast, then go out to feed the livestock. 

It is still raining. The cold and relentless barrage of wet does not help my mood. It is a long walk from the house to the stable, and the dirt path has already turned to mud. Feeding the animals takes forever, but it is a mundane task that takes you off my mind for a bit. But once the last animal is fed and I am out in the rain again, you reenter my thoughts and I am lost. 

I'll never shine the way you shine. It is a fact I have come to terms with. To love you would have only disgraced you. Would a   
diamond be happy set in dirt? No, it must be set in gold to sparkle. Such is the root of my problem. I am dirt, in many ways: first, because I could never hope to rise to your level, and second, because my wife will always feel deep down inside that she was settled for. To my heart, she is second-best. 

The spires loom large in the distance, only slightly obscured by the darkness of angry rainclouds. They remind me that I will see you tonight. It will take every ounce of courage I have just to stand before you and look at your face, because it will be just like the day I left you. I will relive the shock, the hurt, and then the anger you expressed in those few short moments. My mind will reel and my heart will be gripped with guilt. If only I could take back what I said that day! If only I could tell you what I really felt--that dirt can love a diamond, but I could never be your gold! 

I am soaked through, caked with mud from the soles of my boots to my knees, and chilled to the bone. I throw my head back and let the rain pelt my cheeks and forehead. I spread my arms and let my sleeves soak up the rain. I consider screaming to release my anger and my sadness, but I refrain. 

I need to be washed clean. I need to start anew. I need to simply start, for I feel as if I am at a standstill. My spirit died when I left   
your side. 

I need resuscitation. 

**~FINIS~**

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Please review if you enjoyed this fic! I appreciate anything you as a reader have to say. Thank you for reading! 

~~@~~LauraCeleste~~@~~   
the_lone_gungirl@yahoo.com 


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